Laboratory sample distribution system and corresponding method of operation

ABSTRACT

A laboratory sample distribution system is presented. The system comprises a plurality of container carriers. The container carriers each comprise at least one magnetically active device such as, for example, at least one permanent magnet, and carry a sample container containing a sample. The system also comprises a transport device. The transport device comprises a transport plane to carry the plurality of container carriers and a plurality of electro-magnetic actuators stationary arranged below the transport plane. The electro-magnetic actuators move a container carrier placed on top of the transport plane by applying a magnetic force to the container carrier. The transport device also comprises a control device to control the movement of the container carriers on top of the transport plane by driving the electro-magnetic actuators. The control device controls the movement such that more than two container carriers are movable simultaneously and independently from one another.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/263,034, filed on Apr. 28, 2014, now allowed, which is based onPCT/EP2012/071751, filed Nov. 2, 2012, which is based on and claimspriority to EP 11187972.2, filed Nov. 4, 2011, which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to a laboratory sampledistribution system and a corresponding method of operation.

Laboratory sample distribution systems are used to distribute samples orspecimens, for example, blood samples or specimens, between variousdifferent laboratory stations or specimen-processing instruments, suchas pre-analytical stations, analytical stations and post-analyticalstations.

In one prior art system, a drive mechanism which operates to advancespecimen-container racks on a surface by producing an X/Y movablemagnetic field below the surface. The movable magnetic field is producedby permanent magnets carried by an X/Y movable magnetic truck assembly.The magnetic field produced by each magnet magnetically couples withmagnetically-attractive members carried in a base portion of eachspecimen-transport rack. The magnetic bond between the magnets andmagnetically-attractive members is sufficiently strong that, as themagnetic truck assembly moves in the X/Y plane, a magnetically-coupledrack follows. Due to mechanical constraints caused by the X/Y movablemagnetic truck assembly independent simultaneous movements of multiplespecimen-transport racks are difficult to implement. Further,specimen-containers can only be moved together in specimen-transportrack quantities.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a laboratory sample distributionsystem and a corresponding method of operation that is highly flexibleand offers a high transport performance.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, a laboratory sample distributionsystem and method are presented. The laboratory sample distributionsystem can comprise a plurality of container carriers. Each containercarrier can comprises at least one magnetically active device andcarries a sample container containing a sample. A transport device cancomprise a transport plane to carry the plurality of multiple containercarriers and a plurality of electro-magnetic actuators stationaryarranged below the transport plane. The electro-magnetic actuators canmove a container carrier placed on top of the transport plane byapplying a magnetic force to the container carrier. The transport devicecan also comprise a control device to control the movement of thecontainer carriers on top of the transport plane by driving theelectro-magnetic actuators. The control device can control the movementsuch that two or more container carriers can be movable simultaneouslyand independently from one another.

Accordingly, it is a feature of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure to provide a laboratory sample distribution system and acorresponding method of operation that is highly flexible and offers ahigh transport performance. Other features of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be apparent in light of the description of thedisclosure embodied herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be best understood when read in conjunction withthe following drawings, where like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a laboratory sample distribution system having atransport plane formed by multiple sub-planes according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an exemplary sub-plane shown in FIG. 1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed perspective side view of the sub-planeshown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a container carrier according to a first embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a container carrier and a correspondingelectro-magnetic actuator according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a simulated magnetic flux density for a containercarrier positioned on top of an electro-magnetic actuator not activatedand an adjacent electro-magnetic actuator activated according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a sub planecomprising a magnetizable coupling element providing a magnetic couplingbetween adjacent electro-magnetic actuators according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates movement of a container carrier and an activationorder of corresponding electro-magnetic actuators according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates movement of a container carrier and an activationorder of corresponding electro-magnetic actuators according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a sub plane according to a further embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in whichare shown by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, specificembodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical,mechanical and electrical changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure.

A laboratory sample or specimen distribution system according to a firstembodiment can comprise a plurality of container carriers such as, forexample about 50 to about 500 container carriers. The container carrierscannot be self-powered. The container carriers can comprise at least onemagnetically active, i.e. magnetically attractive, device and can carrya single sample container.

Further, the system can comprise a transport device including a twodimensional transport plane or supporting surface which may becompletely planar and can carry at least part of the container carriers.The transport device can further includes a plurality ofelectro-magnetic actuators, for example, about 50 to about 5000electro-magnetic actuators, which can be arranged stationary or fixedbelow the transport plane. The electro-magnetic actuators can move acontainer carrier on top of the transport plane in at least twodifferent directions by applying or causing a magnetic force to thecontainer carrier, i.e. to the magnetically active device of thecontainer carrier. The transport device can further includes a controldevice to control the movement of the container carriers on top of thetransport plane by driving the electro-magnetic actuators, for example,with a corresponding driving current. The control device can control themovement such that more than two container carriers can be movablesimultaneously and independently from one another. Simultaneously canindicate that during a certain time interval at least two containercarriers move. Independently can indicate that the container carriersmay be moved, for example, in different directions, with differentspeeds, along different paths, and starting the movement at differentpoints in time. The control device may be incorporated as a personalcomputer running control software. The personal computer may interactwith dedicated driving hardware physically driving the electro-magneticactuators.

The transport plane can support the container carriers in a way to allowmovement along directions as guided by magnetic forces. Accordingly, thetransport plane can be continuous in at least those directions ofmovements to allow a smooth travel of the container carriers. In orderto allow a flexible transfer of carriers along many lateral directions,a flat transport plane can be an advantage. On a microscopic level, itcan be advantageous to employ a surface with many small protrusions inorder to reduce friction between the transport plane and the bottomsurface of the container carrier.

The transport plane can further transmit the magnetic field of theelectro-magnetic actuators. Accordingly, the transport plane can be madefrom magnetically transmissive materials such as, for example, glass orplastics. Further, the thickness of the transport plane can be acompromise between mechanical stability and magnetic shielding. Atransport plane having a thickness of about 2 to about 10 mm can be wellsuited.

The magnetically active device can be a device to cause magnetic forcesin interaction with a corresponding magnetic field. The magneticallyactive device may comprise at least one permanent magnet. By themultiple electro-magnetic actuators interacting individually withcorresponding container carriers, it can be possible to independentlyand simultaneously move multiple individual sample containers along agiven grid over the transport plane offering high transport flexibility,which can mean that single containers can be transported independentlyfrom each other to desired locations on the transport plane.

The movement may be controlled such that collisions between containercarriers moving simultaneously and independently from one another alongdifferent paths can be avoided. Collisions may occur if more than onecontainer carrier tries to move to the same position or location.Collisions may be avoided by checking if a next position on a route orpath of a container carrier is blocked or occupied by another containercarrier moving along a different route. If the next position is blocked,the container carrier can be parked on an actual position. When the nextposition is free of any container carriers, the parked container carriercan continues its movement. Additionally, collisions may be logicallyavoided, for example, by optimizing routes avoiding collisions a priori.

The movement may be controlled such that at least one transport sectioncan be logically defined or formed on the transport plane. Containercarriers moving in a given transport section can have the same transportdirection. The transport section can cluster the transport plane inlogical sections. Within each transport section, the container carrierscan be moved unidirectionally. Thus, each transport section canlogically define a road having one or more tracks. The containercarriers can move along the given tracks. Clustering the transport planein different logical transport sections can reduce or eliminate thenumber of crossings between different container carrier routes. Thus,the complexity in finding routes for multiple container carriers to bemoved simultaneously over the transport plane can be reduced.

Outside of the transport sections the container carriers may move in anydirection technically possible. Transport sections may be visibly markedon the transport plane.

The movement may be controlled such that a route defined by a startlocation and a destination location can be optimized by a givencriteria. The given criteria can be at least one of the group of:shortest distance between the start location and the destinationlocation, transport time between the start location and the destinationlocation, number of intersections with other routes, priority assignedto a container carrier, and defective electro-magnetic actuators. If thecriterion is the number of intersections with other routes, the routemay be planned avoiding intersections as far as possible. This canreduce dependencies between container carriers moving along differentroutes over the transport plane. If the criterion is the priorityassigned to a container carrier, wherein two or more differentpriorities may be assigned, it can be possible to speed up the transportof container carriers having a higher priority. Thus, emergency samplesmay be moved by container carriers having the highest priority therebyminimizing the overall processing time of such emergency samples. If thecriterion reflects defective electro-magnetic actuators, it can bepossible to operate the transport plate even if some of theelectro-magnetic-actuators are defective. A route can be planned suchthat those defective electro-magnetic-actuators can be circumnavigated.The positions of defective electro-magnetic-actuators may beautomatically detected and/or input by an operator.

The transport plane may comprise insertion areas for manually and/orautomatically placing/inserting container carriers and/or samplecontainers on the transport plane.

A bar code reader and/or a RFID reader may be placed adjacent or withinthe insertion area so that barcodes and/or RFID tag informationidentifying samples/sample containers actually placed on the insertionarea may be read and further processed by the control device.

Accordingly, the transport plane may comprise removal areas for manuallyand/or automatically removing container carriers and/or samplecontainers from the transport plane.

The transport plane may be covered such that only the insertion areasand the removal areas can be accessible by a user to prevent unwantedmanipulation.

For samples comprised in sample containers which need to be analyzed inshort time (STAT samples or priority samples) dedicated priorityinsertion areas and removal areas on the transport plane may beprovided. Container carriers carrying such priority samples can beplaced on the priority insertion area manually or by a device. Afterbeing placed on the priority insertion area, the container carriers canbe moved over the transport plane with priority under the control of thecontrol device.

A priority assignment to a sample container and to the correspondingcontainer carrier may be performed simply by placing the containercarrier carrying the priority sample on the priority insertion area.Sensor devices, for example, a barcode reader and/or an RFID reader, maydetect the presence of a container carrier and may determine allnecessary information for further processing and transfer thisinformation to the control device.

Additionally or alternatively, priority assignment may be performed bythe control device having knowledge of sample containers to beprocessed/moved with priority. If the sample container having priorityis placed in a container carrier, the control device may control theprioritized movement of the container carrier over the transport plane.

The system may further comprise a container carrier sensing device tosense the presence and/or position of container carriers located on thetransport plane. A scheduled position of a container carrier, i.e. aposition a container can have if the system works without faultaccording to the scheduling by the control device and a sensed positionof a container carrier can be compared. If the scheduled position doesnot match with the sensed position, an error message may be generated.Alternatively, the transport device may be stopped so that all containercarriers stop moving. This can allow for a secure operation of thesystem since fault conditions can be detected and handled safely.

By comparing the scheduled position and the sensed position it isfurther possible to for example detect a gradual reduction of thetransport speed, for example, caused by contamination of the transportplane resulting in an increased friction. If such a gradual reduction ofthe transport speed is determined, the control device may accordinglyincrease the magnetic force generated by the electro-magnetic actuatorsand/or display an error message if the transport speed is below a giventhreshold.

When powering down, for example, in the case of an electrical poweroutage, the actual sensed positions/status may be stored by the controldevice. The stored positions/status may be used by the control devicewhen powering up again. The control device may compare the storedpositions with actually sensed positions. In the case of a mismatch, thecontrol device may generate an error message and/or perform an errorprocedure.

It can be self-evident that an uninterrupted power supply may be used toprovide sufficient electrical power for powering down safely in the caseof an electrical power outage.

The transport plane may comprise one or more displays, for example,LEDs, indicating the status of the transport plane. LEDs may, forexample, be arranged below translucent areas of the transport plane. TheLEDs can indicate the status, for example, by flashing, of acorresponding electro-magnetic actuator, the position of a specificcontainer carrier, areas to be cleaned, insertion/removal areas,defective areas, and the like.

The transport plane may comprise at least one transfer area locatedadjacent to a laboratory station (also called laboratory device) and/oran automatic transfer device. The transfer area may store a plurality ofcontainer carriers for sequentially processing by the laboratory stationor the automatic transfer device. The transfer area may comprise ahandover position, wherein container carriers exclusively enter thetransfer area by passing the handover position. The transfer area canprovide a dynamic processing queue for a corresponding laboratorystation, thereby enabling a flexible load balancing. The dynamicprocessing queue may get longer if a large number of samples have to beprocessed by the corresponding laboratory station having a limitedprocessing capacity. The non-processed sample carriers or samples can bequeued at locations within the transfer area, wherein the number oflocations may be fixed or variable. If the number is variable, the sizeof the transfer area may be dynamically increased in response to thenumber of container carriers waiting for processing. The fixed handoverposition can simplify routing to a laboratory station, since in everycase the destination i.e. the handover position can be known.

The system may comprise a visualizing device to visualize the presenceand position of container carriers located on the transport plane;and/or the presence and position of sample containers located on thetransport plane such as, for example, including information regardingcorresponding samples; and/or error conditions of the sampledistribution system. An error condition may for example be a defectiveelectro-magnetic actuator. The visualizing device may for example be aLCD monitor. Using the visualizing device, it can be possible tovisually supervise the operation of the system and to handle complexerror conditions by visually guided manually interacting.

A method for the versatile transport of sample containers can beachieved with a laboratory sample distribution system comprising aplurality of container carriers. The system can comprise a transportdevice for moving the container carriers. The transport device cancomprise a transport plane to carry the plurality of container carriers,a plurality of electro-magnetic actuators arranged below the transportplane, the electro-magnetic actuators can move a container carrierplaced on top of the transport plane by applying a magnetic force to thecontainer carrier, and a control device to control the movement of thecontainer carriers on top of the transport plane. The movement of thecontainer carriers on top of the transport plane can be controlled bydriving the electro-magnetic actuators such that two or more containercarriers can be movable simultaneously and independently from oneanother. The term “simultaneously” can herein mean that at least atcertain time intervals the two container carriers can both be in motion.

The at least one permanent magnet may be ball-shaped. A north pole or asouth pole of the ball-shaped permanent magnet can be directed to thetransport plane. In other words, an axis extending through the oppositepoles of the ball-shaped permanent magnet can be perpendicular to thetransport plane. A diameter of the ball-shaped permanent magnet may beapproximately 12 mm. The ball-shaped permanent magnet can cause anoptimized magnetic field in interaction with the electro-magneticactuators, for example, compared with a bar magnet, resulting in highermagnetic force components in a lateral movement direction.

The permanent magnet in conjunction with a ferromagnetic core of acurrently adjacent non-activated electro-magnetic actuator can cause anunwanted magnetic retention force. The retention force can hinder thedesired movement of the container carrier away from the currentlyadjacent non activated electro-magnetic actuator towards an activatedelectro-magnetic actuator. Increasing the distance between the permanentmagnet and the transport plane, i.e. also increasing the distancebetween the permanent magnet and the electro-magnetic actuators, canreduce this magnetic retention force. Unfavorably, an increasingdistance can also lower a desired magnetic transport force in a lateralmovement direction. Therefore, a distance between a center of the atleast one permanent magnet and a bottom surface of the containercarrier, the bottom surface can be in contact with the transport plane,may be selected within a range of about 5 mm to about 50 mm. The givendistance range can provide an optimized compromise between a desiredmagnetic transport force in movement direction and an unwanted magneticretention force.

The container carriers may comprise a first permanent magnet arranged inthe center of a stand of the container carrier and a second permanentmagnet having a ring shape arranged in the stand surrounding the firstpermanent magnet. This arrangement can provide high flexibility incausing push and pull magnetic forces, especially if more than oneelectro-magnetic actuator is activated at a given time. The first andsecond permanent magnets may have a reverse polarity, i.e. a south poleof the first permanent magnet and a north pole of the second permanentmay point to the transport plane, or vice versa. The ring shaped secondpermanent magnet may constitute a circular area having a diameter thatis smaller than a distance between axes of electro-magnetic actuators ofthe transport plane.

The container carriers may comprise a RFID tag storing a unique ID. Thiscan enable matching between a sample container ID, for example, abarcode, and the corresponding container carrier. The unique carrier IDcan be read by an optional RFID reader being part of the system andplaced at one or more specific locations within the system.

The RFID tag may comprise a ring shaped antenna arranged in a stand ofthe container carrier. This antenna arrangement can make it possible toread the RFID tag by a RFID reader antenna below the transport plane.Thus, the transport plane itself and/or areas above the transport planemay be designed free of any disturbing RFID reader antennas.

A stand of the container carrier can have a circular cross sectionhaving a diameter of approximately 3.5 cm to 4.5 cm. The circular crosssection of the stand can reduce the likelihood of a stand collision ofcontainer carriers moving adjacent in different directions. Compared forexample with quadratic stands, this can reduce the required safetydistance between adjacent positions and the requirements on positioningaccuracy. Further, the circular stand can improve the self-supporting ofthe container carrier, for example, prevents that the containers carriertilts under normal operating conditions.

The electro-magnetic actuators may comprise a ferromagnetic core guidingand amplifying a magnetic field. The electro-magnetic actuators may havea center finger and four outer fingers, each of the fingers extendingperpendicular to the transport plane. Only the center finger may besurrounded by a coil being driven by an actuating current. Thisarrangement can reduce the number of coils needed for activating theelectro-magnetic actuators. The center finger and the outer fingers caninteract advantageously by providing push and pull forces, respectively,especially if the container carrier comprises a first permanent magnetarranged in the center of the stand and a second permanent magnet havinga ring shape arranged in the stand surrounding the first permanentmagnet.

The electro-magnetic actuators may be arranged in rows and columnsforming a grid or matrix of active transport fields. The rows andcolumns can have either a first grid dimension g1 or a second griddimension g2, wherein g2=2*g1. Adjacent rows and adjacent columns canhave different grid dimensions. The grid dimension can specify adistance between adjacent or consecutive electro-magnetic actuators in agiven row or column. In other words, the electro-magnetic actuators canbe arranged in form of a grid or matrix, wherein the grid or matrix canhave blank positions representing omitted electro-magnetic actuators.This arrangement can consider that diagonal movements of the containercarriers may not be necessary to reach a specific destination on thetransport plane since the specific destination can be reached based onmovements along the rows and columns. The mentioned arrangement of theelectro-magnetic actuators can reduce the number of requiredelectro-magnetic actuators significantly (by e.g. 33%) compared to asolution having a constant grid dimension. Nevertheless, if a diagonalmovement is required, it can be self-evident that the rows and columnsmay be provided having a constant grid dimension, for example, forming atransport plane being divided in active transport fields with equaldimensions.

The transport plane may be divided into multiple sub-planes. Eachsub-plane can have a first outer face, a second outer face, a thirdouter face and a fourth outer face at which further planes can bearranged in a tiling manner to form a transport plane. This approach canoffer the ability to provide transport planes of desired shape. This canbe a big advantage to serve the needs an individual laboratory mighthave due to the laboratory stations present or due to spatialrestraints.

The approach to build the transport plane from sub-planes can becombined with the concept of rows having different grid dimensions toreduce the number of needed electro-magnetic actuators. Sub-planes canbe employed where along the first and the second outer face theelectro-magnetic actuators can be arranged in a first grid dimension g1and along the third and the fourth outer face the electro-magneticactuators can be arranged in a second grid dimension g2, whereing2=2*g1. Multiple sub-planes can be arranged adjacent in a tiling mannerto form the transport plane. Adjacent outer faces of different subplanes can have different grid dimensions.

The system may comprise a magnetizable coupling element to provide amagnetic coupling between adjacent electro-magnetic actuators. Due tothe coupling element, the activated electro-magnetic actuatorautomatically can cause a magnetic field in the adjacent actuatorshaving an inverse polarization. This can automatically providerespective pull and push forces even if only a single electro-magneticactuator is activated, for example, by a corresponding activatingcurrent.

The surface of the container carriers and the surface of the transportplane may be arranged to reduce friction between the surfaces, forexample, by coating the container carriers and/or the transport plane.

The system may comprise a cover profile covering the transport plane,especially covering multiple sub-planes forming the transport plane. Thecover plane can be fluidtight. The cover plane can simplify the cleaningof the transport plane and can avoid disturbing gaps between adjacentsub-planes, when the transport plane is formed of multiple adjacentsub-planes. Further, the cover profile can mitigate height differencesbetween adjacent sub-planes. The cover profile may be just overlying thetransport plane or may be glued to the top surface of the sub planes tostabilize the arrangement and to prevent spacing which can reducemagnetic forces.

A method for the versatile transport of sample containers can beachieved with a laboratory sample distribution system comprising aplurality of container carriers. The container carriers can comprise atleast one magnetically active device and can carry a sample container.The laboratory sample distribution system can further comprise atransport plane to carry the container carriers, and a plurality ofelectro-magnetic actuators stationary arranged below the transportplane. The electro-magnetic actuators can move a container carrier ontop of the transport plane by applying a magnetic force to the containercarrier. The method can comprise activating at least one of theelectro-magnetic actuators to apply a magnetic force to a containercarrier within an operating distance of the at least one activatedelectro-magnetic actuator. Activating an electro-magnetic actuator canmean that a magnetic field can be generated by the electro-magneticactuator. Activating may be done by generating a driving current appliedto a coil surrounding a ferromagnetic core.

A speed of a container carrier moving across the transport plane may beset by setting a period between a successive activation of adjacentelectro-magnetic actuators. If this duration is set shorter, the speedcan increase and vice versa. By changing the duration dynamically, acontainer carrier may be accelerated or slowed down.

The electro-magnetic actuators may be activated in response to a sensedposition of the container carrier to be applied with the magnetic force.The electro-magnetic actuators may be activated such that a polarity ofthe generated magnetic field can depend on a position of the containercarrier relative to the electro-magnetic actuator. This can causeposition-depended pull and push forces. In a first position range whenthe container carrier is moving towards the activated electro-magneticactuator, the pull force may attract the container carrier towards theactivated electro-magnetic actuator. In a second position range when thecontainer carrier has traversed the electro-magnetic actuator, the pushforce may push the container carrier away from the activatedelectro-magnetic actuator now generating a magnetic field having anopposite polarity. Additionally, the magnetic field strength may bechanged in response to the sensed position to provide a steady movementof the container carrier. The electro-magnetic actuators may generatemagnetic fields having only a single polarity to simplify the system. Inthis case, the activated electro-magnetic actuator may generate the pullforce in the first position range when the container carrier is movingtowards the activated electro-magnetic actuator. In the second positionrange when the container carrier has traversed the electro-magneticactuator, the electro-magnetic actuator may be deactivated.

For moving a first container carrier along a first transport path, afirst group of electro-magnetic actuators may be activated along thefirst transport path. For independently and at least partiallysimultaneously moving a second container carrier along a secondtransport path, a second group of multiple electro-magnetic actuatorsmay be activated along the second transport path. Simultaneously canindicate that during a certain time interval both the first and thesecond container carrier move. The electro-magnetic actuators of thefirst or the second group may be activated one after the other along therespective transport path. Alternatively, two or more adjacentelectro-magnetic actuators along the respective transport path may beactivated at least partially overlapping in time.

A movement of a container carrier placed on a field on top of a firstelectro-magnetic actuator to an adjacent field on top of a secondelectro-magnetic actuator may comprise activating the first and thesecond electro-magnetic actuator and a third electro-magnetic actuatoradjacent to the first electro-magnetic actuator and opposite to thesecond electro-magnetic actuator and part of the same row or column asthe first and the second electro-magnetic actuators in a predeterminedorder.

If the container carriers comprise a first permanent magnet arranged inthe center of a stand of the container carrier and a second permanentmagnet having a ring shape arranged in the stand surrounding the firstpermanent magnet, the method may further comprise activating the secondelectro-magnetic actuator such that a resulting pull-force regarding thesecond permanent magnet having a ring shape can be generated, andactivating the third electro-magnetic actuator such that a resultingpush-force regarding the second permanent magnet can be generated; aftera predetermined time interval or at a predetermined position of thecontainer carrier: activating the first electro-magnetic actuator suchthat a resulting pull-force regarding the second permanent magnet can begenerated and that a resulting push-force regarding the first permanentmagnet can be generated; and after a second predetermined time intervalor at a second predetermined position of the container carrier:activating the second electro-magnetic actuator such that a resultingpull-force regarding the second permanent magnet can be generated. Amovement between adjacent electro-magnetic actuators can be done in asequence of three activation patterns regarding three adjacentelectro-magnetic actuators. This can lead to a continuous uniformmovement with a high positioning accuracy. The first and second timeinterval or the first and the second position may be determined based ona sensed position of the container carrier provided by the containercarrier sensing device.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 shows a laboratory sampledistribution system 100. The laboratory sample distribution system 100can be used to distribute samples or specimens, e.g. blood samples,contained within sample containers or sample tubes 3 between differentlaboratory stations or specimen-processing instruments 22, such aspre-analytical stations, analytical stations and post-analyticalstations typically used in laboratory systems.

The laboratory sample distribution system 100 can comprise a number ofcontainer carriers or Single-Tube-Carriers 1 each carrying acorresponding sample container 3 over a transport plane 4.

In order to move the container carriers 1, a transport device can beprovided. The transport device can comprise the transport plane 4,electro-magnetic actuators 5 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and a control device 38to control the movement of the container carriers on top of thetransport plane.

The control device may be incorporated as a personal computer runningcorresponding control software. The personal computer may interact withdedicated driving hardware (not shown) physically driving theelectro-magnetic actuators 5. The physically driving may be done byapplying a driving current to a coil of an electro-magnetic actuator 5.

The electro-magnetic actuators 5 can be stationary arranged below thetransport plane 4. Each of the electro-magnetic actuators 5 can move acontainer carrier 1 in operating distance of a correspondingelectro-magnetic actuator 5 by applying a magnetic force to thecontainer carrier 1.

The depicted transport plane 4 can be divided into four quadraticsub-planes 23, the sub-planes 23 can be adjacent to one another. Thetransport plane can be covered by an optional cover profile 24. Thecover profile 24 can be fluidtight and can cover gaps and mitigateheight differences between adjacent sub-planes 23. The material of thecover profile 24 can provide a low friction coefficient. The coverprofile 24 may, for example, be a glass plate or a foil of polyethyleneor PTFE (poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene).

Due to the electro-magnetic actuators 5 which may generate magneticfields simultaneously and independently from one another, it can bepossible to move multiple container carriers 1 simultaneously andindependently from one another along different transport paths orroutes.

The simultaneous movement of the container carriers 1 can be controlledsuch that collisions can be avoided. Collisions may occur if more thanone container carrier 1 tries to move to the same position or location.A position may be defined by a corresponding electro-magnetic actuator 5and may have a size corresponding to a region on the transport planecovered by a container carrier 1.

Collisions may be avoided by checking if a next position on a route orpath of a container carrier 1 is blocked or occupied by anothercontainer carrier 1 moving along a different route. If the next positionis blocked, the container carrier 1 can be parked on an actual position.When the next position is free of any container carriers, the parkedcontainer carrier can continue its movement.

The movement may be controlled such that at least one transport section40 can be defined on the transport plane 4. Container carriers 1 movingin a given transport section can have the same transport direction r.The transport section 40 can cluster the transport plane 4 in logicalsections. Within each transport section, the container carriers can bemoved unidirectionally. Thus, each transport section can logicallydefine or reserve a road having one or more tracks. The containercarriers can move along the given tracks. Although only a singletransport section 40 is depicted, it can be self-evident that more thana single transport section can be provided, each transport sectionhaving a specific transport direction. By using four transport sectionscombined to form a rectangle, it can be possible to simulate a conveyor,the conveyor having increased flexibility compared with a conventionalconveyor.

The movement may be controlled such that a route defined by a startlocation and a destination location can be optimized by a givencriteria. If a container carrier has to be moved between differentlaboratory stations 22 in order to perform a set of analyses, a startlocation may be a location the container carrier 1 is initially placedon the transport plane 4. The destination location may be a locationadjacent to a laboratory station 22 performing a first processing step.After the first processing step has finished, a next route can bedefined by a new start location corresponding to the destinationlocation of the previous route and a destination location correspondingto a laboratory station 22 performing a next processing step.

The given criteria can be at least one of the group consisting of:shortest distance between the start location and the destinationlocation, transport time between the start location and the destinationlocation, number of intersections with other routes, priority assignedto a container carrier, and defective electro-magnetic actuators.

The transport plane 4 may comprise at least one logical transfer area 27located adjacent to a laboratory station 22 and/or an automatic transferdevice 33. The automatic transfer devices 33 can be arranged toautomatically transfer a sample item. The sample item can be a containercarrier, a sample container, part of the sample and/or the completesample, between the transport plane 4 and a laboratory station 22.

The transfer area 27 may store a plurality of container carriers 1 forsequentially processing by the laboratory station 22 or the automatictransfer device 33. The transfer area 27 may comprise a handoverposition 41. Container carriers 1 can exclusively enter the transferarea 27 by passing the handover position 41. The transfer area canprovides a dynamic processing queue for a corresponding laboratorystation, thereby enabling a flexible load balancing.

The system may further comprise a visualizing device 39 to visualize thepresence and position of container carriers 1 located on the transportplane 4; and/or the presence and position of sample containers 3 locatedon the transport plane such as, for example, including informationregarding corresponding samples; and/or error conditions of the sampledistribution system.

Referring to FIG. 3 a container carrier sensing device can be providedcomprising a printed circuit board 25 having multiple IR basedreflection light barriers 17 arranged in a grid on top. The containercarrier sensing device can sense the presence and/or position ofcontainer carriers 1 located on the transport plane 4. The IR basedreflection light barriers 17 can detect container carriers 1 placed ontop of a corresponding light barrier 17 since the container carriers 1can be arranged to reflect IR radiation emitted by the light barriers17. If no container carrier is present, no reflected IR light can getinto the IR sensor of a corresponding light barrier 17.

Alternatively or additionally to the IR based reflection light barriers17, all kind of suitable sensors, for example, magnet/hall sensors, maybe used to sense the presence and/or position of container carriers 1located on the transport plane 4.

In order to supervise the correct function of the system, a scheduledposition of a container carrier 1, i.e. a position a container can haveif the system works without fault, and a sensed position of a containercarrier may be compared. If the scheduled position does not match withthe sensed position an error message may be generated.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view on an exemplary sub-plane 23 ofFIG. 1. The sub-plane can have a first outer face 20, a second outerface 21, a third outer face 18 and a fourth outer face 19. Along thefirst and the second outer face 20 and 21, the electro-magneticactuators 5 can be arranged in a first grid dimension g1. Along thethird and the fourth outer face 18 and 19, the electro-magneticactuators 5 can be arranged in a second grid dimension g2, whereing2=2*g1. The grid dimension g1 may for example be about 20 mm.

The electro-magnetic actuators 5 can be arranged in rows and columns,for example, 16 rows and 16 columns, the rows and columns having eithera first grid dimension g1 or a second grid dimension g2, whereing2=2*g1, and adjacent rows having a different grid dimension andadjacent columns having a different grid dimension. If a position orfield on the transport plane has to be accessible as a targetdestination, a corresponding electro-magnetic actuator can be providedbelow that target destination. If a specific field or area needs not tobe accessible, an electro-magnetic actuator may be omitted at thatposition.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed perspective side view of the sub-plane 23 shownin FIG. 2. As illustrated, each electro-magnetic actuator 5 can be fixedon a carrier plate 26 and can comprise a ferro-magnetic cylindrical core5 a extending substantially perpendicular to the transport plane 4. Acoil 5 b can surround the ferro-magnetic cylindrical core 5 a. The coil5 b can be applied with an actuating current provided by the controldevice 38 over electrical contacts 5 c. If driven by an actuatingcurrent, each electro-magnetic actuator 5 can generate a magnetic field.When this field interacts with a permanent magnet 2 (see FIG. 4)arranged in the container carrier 1, it can provide a driving forcemoving the container carrier 1 along the transport plane 4. Theferro-magnetic cylindrical core 5 a can bundle and amplify the magneticfield generated by the coil 5 b.

In the most simple form, each container carrier 1 may be exposed to adriving force generated by a single activated electro-magnetic actuator5 proximate to the corresponding container carrier 1 thereby pulling thecontainer carrier 1 towards the activated electro-magnetic actuator 5.Further, it can be possible to superpose push and pull driving forces ofmultiple electro-magnetic actuators 5 proximate to the correspondingcontainer carrier 1.

Further, it can be possible to activate multiple electro-magneticactuators 5 at the same time to move multiple different containercarriers 1 independent of each other along predetermined paths over thetransport plane 4.

FIG. 4 shows a container carrier 1 according to a first embodiment. Thecontainer carrier 1 can comprise a ball-shaped permanent magnet 2. Adistance 1 between a center of the at least one permanent magnet 2 and abottom surface 8 a of the container carrier, the bottom surface 8 a canbe in contact with the transport plane 4, can lie within a range ofabout 5 mm to about 50 mm, and may be approximately 12 mm. A height h ofthe container carrier 1 may be approximately 42 mm.

The permanent magnet 2 may be made from hard ferromagnetic materials.These can include for example iron ore (magnetite or lodestone), cobaltand nickel, as well as the rare earth metals. A north pole N of thepermanent magnet 2 can be directed towards the transport plane.

A stand 8 of the container carrier can have a circular cross sectionhaving a diameter of approximately 3.5 cm to 4.5 cm coveringapproximately five electro-magnetic actuators 5 if positioned in thecenter of a cross formed by the five electro-magnetic actuators 5. Theelectro-magnetic actuator in the center of the cross can be fullycovered, wherein the four outer electro-magnetic actuators can be nearlycovered by half. Due to this, two carriers moving on adjacent tracks canpass by each other without collision. On the other hand, the footprintcan be large enough to provide a smooth transport without much tilting.

The container carriers may comprise a sample container fixer which mayfor example be incorporated in form of flexible flat spring 28. Theflexible flat spring 28 can be arranged at the side wall of thecylindrical opening of the container carrier 3. The flexible flat spring28 can safely fix the sample container 3 within the container carrier 1,even if the sample container 3 has a smaller diameter than thecorresponding opening.

If different sample container types are used, for example, havingdifferent form factors, it can even be possible to provide specificcontainer carriers with different inner diameters corresponding torespective sample container types.

FIG. 5 shows a container carrier 1′ according to a second embodimenthaving a different magnet arrangement and a correspondingelectro-magnetic actuator 5′. The container carrier 1′ can comprise afirst permanent magnet 6 arranged in the center of a stand 8 of thecontainer carrier 1′ and a second permanent magnet 7 having a ring shapearranged in the stand 8 surrounding the first permanent magnet 6. Thepermanent magnets 6 and 7 can have a reverse polarity. A north pole ofthe center permanent magnet 6 and a south pole of the ring shapedpermanent magnet 7 can be directed towards the transport plane 4.

Further, the container carrier 1′ can comprise a RFID tag 9 storing aunique ID corresponding to a specific container carrier. The RFID tag 9can comprise a ring shaped antenna 10 which can be arranged in the stand8 of the container carrier 1′ between the first and the second permanentmagnet 6 and 7.

The corresponding electro-magnetic actuator 5′ can comprise aferromagnetic core having a center finger 11 and four outer fingers 12,13, 14, and 15, each of the fingers extending perpendicular to thetransport plane 4, wherein only the center finger 11 can be surroundedby a coil 16 driven by an actuating current Ia. This arrangement canreduce the number of coils needed for activating the electro-magneticactuator 5′ compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, wherein thecenter finger 11 and the outer fingers 12 to 15 can interactadvantageously by providing push and pull forces, respectively,especially if the container carrier 1′ is arranged as shown.

FIG. 6 shows a simulated magnetic flux density B for the case that acontainer carrier as depicted in FIG. 4 is positioned on top of anelectro-magnetic actuator 5_2 not being activated and an adjacentelectro-magnetic actuator 5_3 being activated. Different flux densitiesB can be represented by corresponding hachures. As shown, the ballshaped permanent magnet 2 in conjunction with a ferromagnetic core ofthe non-activated electro-magnetic actuator 5_2 can cause an unwantedmagnetic retention force F2 pulling the permanent magnet 2 towards theferromagnetic core of the non-activated electro-magnetic actuator 5_2,thereby causing an unwanted force-component in opposite direction of thedesired movement and additionally increasing friction between thecorresponding surfaces of the transport plane and the stand. Theactivated electro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can generate a force F1.

In order to reduce these unwanted effects, it can be possible togenerate an opposing magnetic field by reversely activating theelectro-magnetic actuator 5_2 pushing the container carrier, therebyreducing friction. Alternatively or additionally, it can be possible tochoose an optimized distance between the permanent magnet 2 and thetransport plane, see also the description regarding FIG. 4.

Nevertheless, the magnetic forces in a desired movement direction usinga ball-shaped permanent magnet 2 can be higher compared to a bar magnet,since the resulting distances between the magnetically active sphericalsurface of the permanent magnet 2 and the active electro-magneticactuator 5_3 can be smaller.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of an embodiment of a sub-plane comprising amagnetizable coupling element 27 providing a magnetic coupling betweenadjacent electro-magnetic actuators 5. As shown, only theelectro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can be activated by driving thecorresponding coil with a driving current and can cause a magnetic flowguided by the coupling element 27 and extending in the ferromagneticcores of the non-activated electro-magnetic actuators 5_2 and 5_3. As aresult, a magnetic push force can be generated by the electro-magneticactuator 5_2 in interaction with the permanent magnet 2 reducingfriction and superimposing in the desired direction with a pull forcegenerated by the activated electro-magnetic actuators 5_3.

FIG. 8 shows a movement of a container carrier 1 and an activation orderof corresponding electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 to 5_5 according to afirst embodiment. As shown, at time t=0, only the electro-magneticactuator 5_2 is activated such that it can generate a pull force movingthe container carrier 1 in the shown direction.

At time t=1, the container carrier 1 has moved such that it can resideon top of the electro-magnetic actuator 5_2, what for example can besensed by the container carrier sensing device. In order to continue themovement electro-magnetic actuator 5_2 can be deactivated andelectro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can be activated, thereby pulling thecontainer carrier 1 forward.

At time t=2, the container carrier 1 has moved such that it can resideon top of the electro-magnetic actuator 5_3. In order to continue themovement electro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can be deactivated andelectro-magnetic actuator 5_4 can be activated, thereby pulling thecontainer carrier 1 forward.

The above steps can be repeated as long as a movement is desired.Concluding, a group of multiple electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 to 5_5along a transport path can be sequentially activated to move thecontainer carrier 1 along the first transport path.

Since the electro-magnetic actuators 5 can be activated independently,it can be possible to independently and simultaneously move a pluralityof different container carriers 1 along different paths whereinself-evidently collisions have to be avoided.

FIG. 9 shows a movement of a container carrier 1′ and an activationorder of corresponding electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 to 5_3 accordingto a second embodiment. FIG. 5 shows the container carrier 1′ in moredetail. In one embodiment, a movement of the container carrier 1′ placedon a first electro-magnetic actuator 5_2 to an adjacent secondelectro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can comprise activating the first and thesecond electro-magnetic actuators 5_2 and 5_3 and a thirdelectro-magnetic actuator 5_1 adjacent to the first electro-magneticactuator 5_2 in a specific order and polarity. The electro-magneticactuators 5_1 to 5_3 can be part of the same row or column and can beactivated generating a south-pole (S) or a north-pole (N) pointingtowards the container carrier F.

In a first step at t=0, the second electro-magnetic actuator 5_3 can beactivated such that a resulting pull-force regarding the secondpermanent magnet 7 having a ring shape can be generated and the thirdelectro-magnetic actuator 5_1 can be activated such that a resultingpush-force regarding the second permanent magnet 7 can be generated.

After the container carrier 1′ reaches a first predetermined position attime t=1, what for example can be sensed by the container carriersensing device, the second and third electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 and5_3 can be deactivated and the first electro-magnetic actuator 5_2 canbe activated such that a resulting pull-force regarding the secondpermanent magnet 7 can be generated and that a resulting push-forceregarding the first permanent magnet 6 can be generated.

After the container carrier 1′ reaches a second predetermined positionat time t=2, the first and the third electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 and5_2 can be deactivated and the second electro-magnetic actuator 5_3 canbe activated such that a resulting pull-force regarding the secondpermanent magnet 7 can be generated.

In one embodiment, a movement between adjacent electro-magneticactuators 5_2 and 5_3 can be performed in a sequence of three activationpatterns regarding three adjacent electro-magnetic actuators 5_1 to 5_3.This can lead to a continuous uniform smooth movement with a highpositioning accuracy.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of hardware architecture of the systemshown in FIG. 1. The control device 38 can comprise a move unit 60, arouting unit 62 and a driver unit 64. The move unit 60 may befunctionally coupled with modules 50, a barcode scanner 52 and a RFIDreader 54. The move unit can control the highest level of functionalityof the laboratory sample distribution system. The move unit 60 can haveknowledge regarding the necessary analyses of samples processed by thesystem. Basically, the move unit 60 can generate start and destinationlocations for respective container carriers 1. Further, the move unit 60can organize the filling of empty container carriers, the removal ofsamples completely processed, capping, decapping, and the like.

The routing unit 62 can compute routes based on the given start anddestination points according to given criteria. Further, the routingunit 62 can generate driving commands based on the computed routes forthe driver unit 64. The move unit 60 and the routing unit 62 may becoupled functionally with the visualizing device 39. The driver unit 64may be functionally coupled with a camera 58 and driver hardware 56directly driving the electro-magnetic actuators 5. The driver unit cancontrol the driver hardware 56 in response to commands received from therouting unit 62.

Having described the present disclosure in detail and by reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of thedisclosure defined in the appended claims. More specifically, althoughsome aspects of the present disclosure are identified herein aspreferred or particularly advantageous, it is contemplated that thepresent disclosure is not necessarily limited to these preferred aspectsof the disclosure.

We claim:
 1. A laboratory sample distribution system, the laboratorysample distribution system comprising: a plurality of containercarriers, wherein each container carrier comprises at least onemagnetically active device and carries a sample container containing asample; and a transport device comprising a transport plane to carry theplurality of container carriers, a plurality of electro-magneticactuators stationary arranged below the transport plane, wherein theelectro-magnetic actuators move a container carrier placed on top of thetransport plane by applying a magnetic force to the container carrier,and a control device to control the movement of the container carrierson top of the transport plane by driving the electro-magnetic actuators,wherein the control device controls the movement such that two or morecontainer carriers are movable simultaneously and independently from oneanother and such that a route being defined by a start location and adestination location is optimized by a given criteria, wherein the givencriteria is at least one of a priority assigned to a container carrieror defective electro-magnetic actuators.
 2. The laboratory sampledistribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least onemagnetically active device is a permanent magnet.
 3. The laboratorysample distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the controldevice controls the movement such that collisions between containercarriers are avoided.
 4. The laboratory sample distribution systemaccording to claim 1, wherein if the given criterion is the priorityassigned to a container carrier and the plurality of container carriershave two or more different priorities assigned to the plurality ofcontainer carriers, the container carrier with a higher priority will beprocessed at a higher speed.
 5. The laboratory sample distributionsystem according to claim 1, wherein the priority assigned to acontainer carrier is assigned by placing the container carrier on apriority insertion area.
 6. The laboratory sample distribution systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the priority assigned to a containercarrier is assigned by the control device.
 7. The laboratory sampledistribution system according to claim 1, wherein if the given criterionis defective electro-magnetic actuators, the route is defined as tocircumnavigate the defective electro-magnetic actuators.
 8. Thelaboratory sample distribution system according to claim 1, whereinpositions of the defective electro-magnetic actuators are automaticallydetected.
 9. The laboratory sample distribution system according toclaim 1, wherein positions of the defective electro-magnetic actuatorsare inputted by an operator.
 10. The laboratory sample distributionsystem according to claim 1, wherein the given criteria is at least onefrom the group of: shortest distance between the start location and thedestination location, transport time between the start location and thedestination location, and number of intersections with other routes. 11.The laboratory sample distribution system according to claim 10, whereinif the given criterion is the number of intersections with other routes,the route is defined to avoid intersections.
 12. The laboratory sampledistribution system according to claim 1, wherein the transport plane isclustered into different logical transport sections.
 13. The laboratorysample distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the transportplane comprises a surface covered with small protrusions.
 14. A methodof operating a laboratory sample distribution system according to claim1, the method comprising: controlling the movement of the containercarriers on top of the transport plane by driving the electro-magneticactuators such that more than two container carriers are movablesimultaneously and independently from one another and such that a routebeing defined by a start location and a destination location isoptimized by a given criteria, wherein the given criteria is at leastone of a priority assigned to a container carrier or defectiveelectro-magnetic actuators.
 15. The method according to claim 14,further comprising, circumnavigating the defective electro-magneticactuators if the given criterion is defective electro-magnetic actuators16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising, assigningpriorities to each of container carrier in the plurality of containercarriers.
 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising,processing the container carriers with a higher priority at a higherspeed if the plurality of container carriers have two or more differentpriorities assigned to the container carriers.
 18. The method accordingto claim 14, wherein the route is optimized by avoiding intersections ofother routes.
 19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the route isoptimized by determining a shortest distance between the start locationand the destination location.
 20. The method according to claim 14,further comprising, clustering the transport plane into differentlogical transport sections.